How to change your life overnight… (literally)

Some time ago, I saw a podcast clip from from Quentin Tarantino.

Quentin described an exercise in which he would pull an all nighter with the intention of “figuring out” his life.

No sleep. Just a notebook, a pen, and his thoughts.

Ironically enough – he did this before making the decision to leave his job at a video store, move to Hollywood, and chase his dream as a movie director.

And the rest is history.

Preparing for Mental Battle

In a conscious effort to figure out my own life, this idea came to mind last week. I knew I needed to make it happen.

A few years ago I did the ​12-Hour Walk​, walking 22.5 miles with no external input. Just me, a small backpack with some snacks, and putting one foot in front of the other.

That day changed my life.

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done. And I loved (and hated) every second of it.

With this in mind, I knew this all-nighter exercise had the opportunity to make a great impact.

So on Thursday, I enjoyed my day, wound down for the night, and entered my studio at 11:05pm.

Earlier in the day I removed any distractions from the room. No laptop, no screens, no phone.

Only the essentials:

• a half finished notebook
• a fresh notebook
• a pen
• and an analog Casio watch

I might have snuck in a half-eaten bag of popcorn at 2:30am– but that’s beside the point.

I felt as if I were preparing for battle. And I was so stoked to get started.

The Beginning of (Seemingly) Forever

The first 30 minutes were the most difficult.

Knowing that I was only a half hour into an 8-hour journey of “boredom” felt extremely intimidating.

The reality of what I was doing set in.

In an effort to make a plan, I pulled out my notebook and chaptered out the evening.

I was going to write every hour, on the hour, with a different topic for each session.

Here’s the workflow I decided to follow:

Hour 1: Introduction + General Thoughts and Ideas

Hour 2: My Life in Chapters

What chapters have I experienced? What did these chapters look like? What were overarching themes of each one?

Hour 3: Big Fat Failure

In what areas have I “failed” in life? In what ways do I feel I’m currently failing?

Hour 4: Limiting Beliefs

What excuses, fears, and struggles limit me? What’s stopping me from giving my all?

Hour 5: Anger + Anti-vision

What does a life of regret look like to me? What do I not want my life to look life?

Hour 6: Me, Myself, and I

What do I not like about my current self or life situation? What would I change if I could?

Hour 7: Me, Myself, and I

What things do I like about myself? What comes natural to me? What’s already working? What things should I double-down on?

Hour 8: Solutions + Vision

What can I do to change for the better? What things are in my control?

A Slow Start to a Slow Night

The first few hours went by quickly. I wasn’t bored, I wasn’t antsy, I wasn’t even feeling tired. It felt easier than expected.

I was at peace with the situation I had put myself in.

It was amazing what sense of relief writing brought. For most sessions, I would write for 20+ minutes, stop, think/meditate, and then wait around until the next hour hit to write about the next topic.

My longest writing session was 58 minutes, and it flew by in an instant. I was completely immersed.

Then – 2:30am hit. I was getting hungry so I grabbed a quick snack from the kitchen (remember that bag of popcorn I mentioned? RIP) and was cautious not to wake my wife up.

I made the mistake of spending a lot of my time on a comfy little couch in my office.

At this point, any time I’d close my eyes to think, I’d find myself drifting into 1-3 minutes of half-sleepiness.

It was so quiet that I could hear the click of my eyelids blinking.

But – I powered through.

Around 3:00am, I started doing some intervals of 10-15 pushups to keep myself awake. Probably ended up knocking out 80-100 pushups throughout the rest of the night. Not bad.

With each writing session I felt my quality of work deteriorating, but I tried not to let this bother me. It was all worth it – regardless if I had any life-changing breakthroughs or not.

The World Awakes, I Drift to Sleep

At 4:00am, I transitioned from writing my “anti-vision” and began focusing on my “vision” for moving forward. This felt difficult because I didn’t have much energy (or consciousness) left.

And finally, before I knew it, it was 5:00am.

I began hearing cars pass by outside on their early morning commute. The world began to awake – slowly but surely.

The night was oddly short. The world doesn’t rest for long.

My neck was sore, my hand was sore, and I was starting to think this was a waste of time. I just wanted to go to bed.

But – I powered through once again.

I did my best to dig deep, to uncover ideas, to make breakthroughs. I did my best to listen.

I wrote my final remarks, closed my notebook at 5:46 am, and laid down on the couch.

I did it. I survived an all nighter. No phone, no laptop, no movies, no screens.

Just a quiet mind and a busy pen.

Did I discover my life path? I don’t think so.

Did I think of the next billion dollar idea? Probably not.

Did I make a 10-year plan? Unfortunately, no.

But I did complete something that was difficult.

I did something that challenged me mentally, physically, and creatively.

I reset my attention span. I enjoyed 8+ hours of solitude. I wrote 15 pages by hand. I revisited my past, and made a vision for the future.

I learned a lot about myself. I learned to love myself more. I learned to accept myself more.

And that was enough for me.

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Thanks for reading! My hope is that this inspires you to do your own version of a physical or mental challenge.

You’re capable of more than you think.

Stay stoked!

–Eric P